Eamon Dunphy says he is going to run for Irish parliament
Photo by: PA Archive/PA Photos

One of Ireland's most popular media personalities, Eamon Dunphy, has announced that he intends to run for Irish Parliament.

Dunphy is one of Ireland's most controversial media figures. He is a soccer pundit on national television and hosts a current affairs program on national radio channel, Newstalk 106.

Dunphy played professional soccer for the Republic of Ireland and Millwall.

When he retired from professional sport he became a journalist and was commissioned by U2's manager Paul McGuinness to write a book about the famous band.

The book "Unforgettable Fire- The Story of U2" was published to critical acclaim but its "inaccurate" content was strongly criticized by Bono.

A verbal war ensued in the national press and Dunphy called Bono a "pompous git."

Dublin-based Dunphy has also openly talked about his recreational use of cocaine and once said, "you can't get good cocaine in this town."

Dunphy claims that his five-year-old grandson was left untreated for hours in an overcrowded hospital, despite the fact that his mother pleaded with staff to help her child who had an underlying heart condition.

Dunphy says that he was appalled by the health service and said it was his mission to oust the current Minister of Health, Mary Harney.

"If Mary Harney runs again, I'll run against her as an independent. I'd do that just to get her out of politics. She has no mandate,” said Dunphy.

Dunphy said the ordeal his grandson went through was "cruel" and said it was "obscene that children can't get proper medical treatment."

Newstalk released a statement saying that it was unlikely that Dunphy would run for parliament.

"Eamon Dunphy running for the Dail is extremely unlikely. However if it were to happen, Newstalk would deal with this situation at that time."